Council Regulation (EC) No 812/2004 of 26.4.2004 laying down measures concerning incidental catches of cetaceans in fisheries and amending Regulation (EC) No 88/98

• Celex Number: 32004R0812
• Coming into Force: 01 July 2004
• End of Effective Date: 31 December 9999
• Published date: 30 April 2004
• Date: 26 April 2004
• ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/812/oj
• Official Gazette Publication: Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea, L 150, 30 de abril de 2004,Gazzetta ufficiale dell’Unione europea, L 150, 30 aprile 2004,Journal officiel de l’Union européenne, L 150, 30 avril 2004

30.4.2004 EN Official Journal of the European Communities L 150/12

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COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 812/2004

of 26.4.2004

laying down measures concerning incidental catches

of cetaceans in fisheries and amending Regulation (EC) No 88/98

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (1),

Whereas:

(1) The objective of the Common Fisheries Policy, as defined in Article 2 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (2), is to ensure exploitation of living aquatic resources that provides sustainable economic, environmental and social conditions. To this end, the Community should, among other things, minimise the impact of fishing activities on marine ecosystems, and the Common Fisheries Policy should be consistent with other Community policies, in particular with environmental policy.

(2) Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (3) gives strict protection status to cetaceans and requires Member States to undertake surveillance of the conservation status of these species. Member States should also establish a system to monitor the incidental capture and killing of these species, to take further research and conservation measures as required to ensure that incidental capture or killing does not have a significant impact on the species concerned.

(3) The scientific information available and the techniques developed to reduce incidental capture and killing of cetaceans in fisheries justify additional measures being taken to further the conservation of small cetaceans in a consistent and cooperative manner at Community level.

(4) Some acoustic devices have been developed to deter cetaceans from fishing gear, and have proven successful in reducing by-catch of cetacean species in static net fisheries. The use of such devices should therefore be required in areas and fisheries with known or foreseeable high levels of by-catch of small cetaceans, and taking into account the cost/efficiency of such requirement. It is also necessary to establish the technical specifications for the efficiency of the acoustic deterrent devices to be used in such fisheries. Scientific studies or pilot projects are needed to increase knowledge about the effects over time of the use of acoustic deterrent devices.

(5) Scientific and technical research, in particular on new forms of active deterrent devices, should not be hindered by this Regulation. While Member States should, therefore, be allowed, for the purpose of this Regulation, to authorise the use of newly developed and efficient types of acoustic deterrent devices not in conformity with the technical specifications laid down in this Regulation on a temporary basis, it is also necessary to provide for technical specifications of acoustic deterrent devices to be brought up to date as soon as possible in accordance with Council Decision No 1999/468/EC laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (4).

(6) Independent observations of fishing activities are essential to provide reliable estimates of the incidental catch of cetaceans. It is therefore necessary for monitoring schemes with independent on-board observers to be set up and for the designation of the fisheries where such monitoring should be given priority to be coordinated. In order to provide representative data on the fisheries concerned, the Member States should design and implement appropriate monitoring programmes for vessels flying their flag engaged in these fisheries. For small-sized fishing vessels less than 15 m overall length, which sometimes are unable to allow an additional person permanently on board as an observer, data on incidental catches of cetaceans should be collected through scientific studies or pilot projects. Common monitoring and reporting tasks also need to be set.

(7) To enable regular evaluation at Community level and thorough assessment in the medium term to take place, the Member States should report annually on the use of pingers and the implementation of the on-board observer programmes and include all information collected on the incidental capture and killing of cetaceans in fisheries.

(8) The risk created by driftnet fishing to the critically endangered population of harbour porpoise in the Baltic Sea area requires the use of driftnets in this area to be stopped. Community vessels which fish with driftnets in this area will be subject to economic and technical constraints necessitating a phasing-out period before a total ban on this gear by 1 January 2008. Council Regulation (EC) No 88/98 of 18 December 1997 laying down technical measures for the conservation of fishery resources in the waters of the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound (5) should be amended to incorporate these measures,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject-matter

This Regulation lays down measures aimed at mitigating incidental catches of cetaceans by fishing vessels in the areas indicated in Annexes I and III.

Article 2

Use of acoustic deterrent devices

1. Without prejudice to other Community provisions, it shall be prohibited for vessels of 12 m or over in overall length to use the fishing gear defined in Annex I in the areas, for the periods, and as from the dates indicated therein without the simultaneous use of active acoustic deterrent devices.

2. The masters of the Community fishing vessels shall ensure that the acoustic deterrent devices are fully operational when setting the gear.

3. By way of derogation, paragraph 1 shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigation which are carried out with the authorisation and under the authority of the Member States or Member States concerned and which aim at developing new technical measures to reduce the incidental capture or killing of cetaceans.

4. Member States shall take necessary steps to monitor and assess, by means of scientific studies or pilot projects, the effects of pinger use over time in the fisheries and areas concerned.

Article 3

Technical specifications and conditions of use

1. Acoustic deterrent devices used in application of Article 2(1) shall comply with one set of the technical specifications and conditions of use defined in Annex II.

2. By way of derogation to paragraph 1, Member States may authorise the temporary use of acoustic deterrent devices which do not fulfil the technical specifications or conditions of use defined in Annex II, provided that their effect on the reduction of incidental catches of cetaceans has been sufficiently documented. An authorisation shall be valid for no more than two years.

3. Member States shall inform the Commission of the authorisations in accordance with paragraph 2 within two months of the date of issue. They shall provide the Commission with technical and scientific information on the acoustic deterrent device authorised and its effects on incidental catches of cetaceans.

Article 4

At-sea observer schemes

1. Member States shall design and implement monitoring schemes for incidental catches of cetaceans using observers on board the vessels flying their flag and with an overall length of 15 m or over, for the fisheries and under the conditions defined in Annex III. The monitoring schemes shall be designed to provide representative data of the fisheries concerned.

2. Member States shall take the necessary steps to collect scientific data on incidental catches of cetaceans for vessels with an overall length less than 15 m and involved in fisheries defined in Annex III paragraph 3 by means of appropriate scientific studies or pilot projects.

Article 5

Observers

1. In order to discharge their obligation to provide observers, Member States shall appoint independent and properly qualified and experienced personnel. In order to carry out their tasks the personnel selected must have the following qualifications:

(a) sufficient experience to identify cetacean species and fishing practices;

(b) basic maritime navigation skills and appropriate safety instruction;

(c) the capacity to accomplish elementary scientific tasks, for example taking of samples where necessary and making accurate observations and records in that connection;

(d) a satisfactory knowledge of the language of the flag Member State of the vessel being observed.

2. The task of observers is to monitor incidental catches of cetaceans and to collect the data necessary to extrapolate the by-catch observed to the whole fishery concerned. In particular, the observers shall:

(a) monitor the fishing operations of the vessels concerned and record the appropriate data on fishing effort (gear characteristics, location and timing of beginning and end of effective fishing operation);

(b) monitor incidental catches of cetaceans.

Observers may also carry out such other observations, as may be determined by Member States, for the purposes of contributing to the scientific understanding of the catch composition of the vessels concerned and the biological status of fishery stocks.

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